To Catch A Warrior [Unearthly World Book 5] (7 page)

“You ejaculate like a power washer.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Zabbie turned in his arms and stared up at him. She lifted her hand to trail across his strong jaw line. His normally wild hair was saturated and fell below his ass. For a moment his eyes blazed brighter and Zabbie warmed as he dried her. She turned from him and stepped out of the shower stall with him trailing, drying her back, ass and thighs.

Titus went to a square outline in a far wall and pushed a button. A drawer opened and he dipped his hand inside pulling out black material. He donned the pants in front of her then stood staring at her breasts, her face, her hips.

“Take a picture, it lasts longer,” she teased.

Titus walked to what Zabbie knew was a replicator; it was larger than the one in the shuttle. He programmed the machine and handed her a pair of pants similar to his but dark red. She could see her full length reflected in a mirror. For a moment she gazed at herself. Sometimes she had seen her reflection in the ice, but it was as if a stranger stared back. Something about how old her eyes were. Her hair was growing in which was a relief, she thought she would be bald forever. She was a little self-conscious and lifted a hand to finger a few tuffs. She was thinner than she remembered but still as tall. Her face had two red blotches on either cheek, no doubt from the cold. They would fade in time. Her green eyes still looked ancient, and sad, and she was surprised.

Bruising dotted her exposed flesh. She admitted she was clumsy, but in her defense ice was a bitch to walk on. She was grateful there were no signs of bad frostbite. The material she wore hugged her ass and thighs and covered her to mid-thigh. The t-shirt was loose and comfortable, she had no underclothing but gravity was still on her side. She waited expectantly for shoes of some kind. Instead, he brought her food.

“You can have all of this,” Titus said in warning. “But you will eat it slowly.”

“It wasn’t my fault I choked. You made me cry. In my defense, I hadn’t eaten anything but that odd fruit.”

Titus looked thoughtful. “The fruit you speak of is strange. Nothing should have existed on the planet. Everything was frozen.”

“Well, the fruit did.”

“I believe you. There would be no other way you could have survived.”

“What?” He was staring at her in a strange way.

“You spent more time with the Gorgano than any female I know of. You’re positive it didn’t have any effect on you?”

“Such as?”

Zabbie settled onto an oversized piece of furniture and curled her legs under her. She picked up a tender slice of dark meat and nibbled.

Titus sat beside her. “When human females come into contact with the Gorgano they develop an ability to fight, or they die. The Gorgano didn’t kill you, it kept you. You can speak my language so the Gorgano must have done something.”

“I wouldn’t mind some super powers. I’ll try and see if I can move something.”

Silly as she felt, Zabbie concentrated on a small object. She tried to move the foot length pen-type rod. Nothing happened, not a twitch or a shimmy. She took a deep breath and gazed at Titus.

“Sorry. I got nothing. You found yourself a dud.”

“It doesn’t matter. Finish your meal and I’ll take you on the bridge.”

“Awesome. I was afraid you were going to keep me locked in here.”

“Wherever I go, you go.”

“Titus, don’t confuse me with another.”

“I’m under no disillusions, you aren’t Bertha, she’s dead, she has to be. You are alive. I plan on keeping it that way.”

“Titus, I won’t be kept in a cage or on a leash. I spent too much time dead and alone. I’m going to live every day as though it’s my last from now on.”

“We shall see.”

* * * *

Titus watched Zabbie wander the bridge of his vessel. He’d never encountered a female so curious. Nothing was overlooked, not even his warriors. With amusement, a warrior stilled when Zabbie approached. The warriors were aware human females were skittish and sometimes afraid of them. His warriors were almost as large as him and he wondered if she would be shy. She reached for the warrior’s hands and Titus tensed; he didn’t know she’d touch him. Ask questions he thought, but all on the bridge were surprised. After a collective gasp, there was dead silence. Finn was the only warrior besides a mate that normally touched a female, and that was because he was a healer.

Zabbie had no concept of personal space. The warrior’s eyes widened appearing stunned when she lifted one of his fingers to trace her cheek. Tane was a young warrior; he had Holidayed but had almost no contact with human females. The warrior would have no idea what to think about a female wanting to touch him. Tane went into battle mode. Zabbie didn’t flinch. From Tane’s awed expression, Titus could tell he was flabbergasted. Most normal beings at least made some kind of response to a warrior’s battle prowess. Zabbie might as well be sniffing flowers.

“Your female’s going to start a riot,” Cy complained. “And why did you stop the ship, I thought we were headed home.”

“Zabbie mentioned she was on a different planet with other humans. There might be a chance some survived.”

“You mean females, don’t you? Damn it, Titus, it’s always those blasted humans. Why not let them rot and take us home, we have a war to fight.”

“Why are you so grouchy?”

“Look at your warriors; they’re all staring at your female and not paying attention to the task at hand. Tane looks like he’s ready to expire.”

Cy was right. Zabbie was oblivious to the warriors prowling around her as curious about her as she was about them. She had zero fear of them, and zero ability to battle; the warriors were enthralled. Titus could almost smell the testosterone in the air. He should have left her in his cabin, but Bertha had been left alone until the last second and see where it got her. He noted
his
female was holding the fingers of yet another warrior. He was going to have to teach her though his warriors were honorable they were also all male. If she kept up what she was doing they would have the urge to Holiday.

“Zabbie,” Titus shouted a little louder than he had meant to.

Startled, she spun to face him releasing the warrior’s hand. “Did I do something wrong? I went from seeing no one to seeing so many. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, or without boundaries. I’m still trying to come to terms I’m alive and you’re all very real. Are you angry, Titus?”

“No,” Titus said and inhaled a deep breath. “I want you to come over here and look at some planets on the monitor and see if anything looks familiar. I would like to see if any humans remain on the planet you were stolen from.”

She brightened. “Do you think there’s hope?”

“There’s always hope. Until there’s reality. Whether hope becomes reality or not, you won’t find it unless you look.”

Zabbie nodded and went to stand beside Titus. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Though tall, she was thin from lack of nourishment. Titus knew before long he would see lush shapes form on her hips and breasts. Her hair was still something to marvel at, she somewhat resembled a porcupine a human female once showed him an image of.

“Is that Earth?” Zabbie asked. Her tone was subdued. Sad.

“I’m afraid it is. The surface is almost completely covered over in water. Unless humans found a way to live underground without drowning…”

“We have bunkers the government made. No doubt a number of fat cats are sleeping soundly, waiting for the water to recede.”

“I’ve seen pictures of cats. I had no clue the animals had the skill to make bunkers.”

Zabbie chuckled. “It’s an expression. I meant well-off people, humans, or those in authority such as politicians. Those with money who opted not to go with the aliens, or those who hid from them. There were rumors the aliens were Tonans. I believed the rumors but I also believed Earth was a lost cause. I doubted, even with time, humans would develop gills and webbed feet. The new planet seemed the safest route, if not the easiest. I wanted to see Ulsy, see if there were rogue humans and how humans were faring.”

“Why are your leaders so quick to abandon the ones they are sworn to protect?”

“Not all are like that. Many, yes. Some really thought Ulsy was a better place for their people and went ahead, not to escape first, but to see firsthand if what the aliens spoke of were lies. We heard good things and maybe it was good at first, until the aliens betrayed us. By then our shuttle had left. Our captain was told to change course. Our fuel supply and food and water were low. We crash landed on a different planet. The crash wasn’t bad, there were no injuries, but the shuttle was too damaged to fly. Our captain tried to fix it but said it was a lost cause. It didn’t matter, we made do. We were happy for a while. It was rough, the terrain was different, the animals were strange. We managed and thrived, until the Tonans came, and then the Gorgano.”

“Did you see the planet from space?”

“Yes,” Zabbie said. “Twice. The first was on board the Earth shuttle. The second time the Gorgano was taunting me.”

“I’m going to call up images. Tell me if anything looks familiar.”

The monitor filled with flipping images rotating one after the other in succession. Green gassy planets followed by orange distorted images. Vapors hung in the air over another planet. He heard her sharp intake of breath when they watched a planet zip back and forth in a horizontal pattern. A deep indigo planet appeared and Titus heard Zabbie’s tiny squeal.

“That’s the one.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes, I could never forget it.”

“Cy charter a course, it’s not too far,” Titus said. He then pulled Zabbie onto his knee.

The huge vessel turned and shot forward. She snuggled into him, laying her head back. He heard her yawn and before long she slept. Titus was content to curl an arm around her. The warriors resumed their duties but were curious, especially the younger ones.

“Why isn’t she running from you?” Tane asked. His tone was low and he stared down at Zabbie. “I heard human females were tame, but this is over the top. She’s just lying there, in your arms like it was natural.”

“It is natural,” Titus said.

“But she has boobs and everything,” Tane continued. Other warriors snickered.

“Human females develop boobs and keep them,” Titus explained.

“All the time?” Tane was incredulous.

“All the time,” Zabbie whispered.

Tane actually jumped and spun around almost running back to his post. The other warriors roared with laughter, all but Cy who shook his head in annoyance. Zabbie remained quiet, eyes closed.

It didn’t take them too long to reach the planet. The ship slowed to a stop. Titus knew the planet had to be close, because he had seen Gorgano shuttles during previous battles. They weren’t able to cover as much space in a short time as the larger vessels, their smaller thrusters not as strong. Since Zabbie’s vessel was attacked, they would be in need of a closer planet. He wondered who had damaged the Gorgano’s shuttle forcing it to take refuge in the sun, it may even have been a Zargonnii, but he doubted it. More than likely it was a Castian. The Gorgano couldn’t battle a shielded Castian.

“
Titus
we have a problem,” Cy bellowed.

A Gorgano space vessel de-cloaked. Their weapons were powering up. The first red bursts of lights rocked the ship, nothing more. They weren’t boarded. Titus snapped colored lights on the console and returned fire.

“Reconfigure shields,” Titus bellowed, jumping to his feet and taking Zabbie with him who woke with a start. “We can’t let them board.”

Titus gripped Zabbie tighter knowing she must be terrified. Zabbie stood quietly watching the Gorgano vessel approach. She said nothing, her features were intense and Titus wondered if she was in shock.

“Their shields are too strong. We’ll never be able to blast our way through them,” Cy yelled.

“We have to try,” Titus bellowed.

A rapid succession of red mini bursts were sent toward the Gorgano vessel; each made a popping sound as they were intercepted. Titus groaned. If they were boarded, they would be doomed. Zabbie had no mind fighting capabilities. The Gorgano would kill her first. He went crazy with the thought, she was his mate. He spun her in his arms.

“Zabbie listen to me. If a Gorgano boards he will explode into your thoughts. You can’t let it do that, the second you see it you must explode into its thoughts, it’s your only chance of survival. You have to remember, please remember.”

The sudden explosion lit the dark sky with a ball of flames resembling the sun. Titus lifted an arm to shield their eyes. The Gorgano vessel was gone, incinerated. Titus heard Zabbie’s loud exhale of breath. When he turned to stare at her she was the essence of calm. Her gaze was fixed on the small puffs of smoke spiraling and dying. Her lashes were fluttering.

“Zabbie?”

“It wasn’t me,” Zabbie said. “I told you I have no mind powers.”

Cy looked skeptical. Titus knew Zabbie wasn’t lying. She had no clue what happened to the vessel she looked as perplexed as the others. Cy gripped Titus by the arm, dragging him from Zabbie’s side and strode to a corner.

“I’m telling you your mate is dangerous. She must have blown up the vessel, you told her to make them explode,” Cy hissed in his ear.

“She says she has no ability to mind battle. You can see her confusion and I don’t sense a lie, do you?”

“No, but that’s what makes her so dangerous.”

“Nonsense, I would know if she were a threat.”

“Titus, look at her. She’s just standing there. No emotion. Human females are a hormone disaster. Shouldn’t she be crying or
something
?”

Zabbie was the epitome of calm. It was as though nothing had just transpired.

“I’m not crying and I witnessed the same thing,” Titus said.

Cy’s glare was less than impressed. “You are a warrior.”

“And she’s not?”

Cy blinked and took a step back. “She’s female, and human.”

“She’s also been through something we can only imagine.”

Titus sauntered back to Zabbie and put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and for a brief second he was certain her body trembled.